Author: B R Haran
Publication: Vijayvaani.com
Date: May 16, 2009
URL: http://www.vijayvaani.com/FrmPublicDisplayArticle.aspx?id=575
"Bofors controversy is a dead issue and
no longer an embarrassment for the party. Misusing CBI is a systemic issue.
All parties in power can put pressure on its agencies"- Rahul Gandhi
"The Quattrocchi case is an embarrassment
for the government of India. We have tried to extradite him from Malaysia.
We have tried to extradite him from Argentina. We have failed. The court says
we do not have a strong case. It is not a good reflection on the Indian legal
system that we harass people while the world says we have no case" -
Manmohan Singh
The Bofors issue is no longer an embarrassment
for Rahul Gandhi, but Dr. Manmohan Singh agrees that it has been an embarrassment.
A close look at their statements proves that both of them agree that the issue
is not at all an embarrassment either to the party or to the family and that
they are not bothered about the issue being an embarrassment to the nation.
While Manmohan Singh says the issue is a reflection of the Indian system,
Rahul says the party can put pressure and misuse the system! Dr. Singh's statement
smacks of inefficiency and impotency; Rahul's shows arrogance and idiocy.
In this ugly 'Quattrocchi' episode, the Prime
Minister, who is also in charge of the CBI, was not even aware of the visit
of a CBI officer to London to facilitate the de-freezing of Q's bank accounts,
as per arrangement of Law Minister Hansraj Bharadwaj on instructions from
the Congress President. He didn't feel shy of openly admitting that the episode
happened without his knowledge. Even now, the CBI has been misused again to
free the Italian fugitive from the clutches of Interpol, and both the PM and
the would-like-to-be-PM have audaciously confessed to misusing the system!
The Congress President imposed Manmohan Singh
on India after her dreams of becoming Prime Minister were shattered by a shrewd
nationalist President in May 2004. Since then, we have witnessed his performance,
or lack of it. The country has come across issues like Bofors, Volcker Report
on Oil for food scam, Office of Profit, Sethusamudram Ship Channel Project,
AIIMS episode, Spectrum scandal, Cash for Vote scam, Amarnath Land dispute
and many others - all dreadful exhibitions of subversion of the Constitution
and abuse of power through various ministries, all incriminating evidence
of his weakness and his 'other' (dishonest) side.
He has not exercised his authority even once
and has never been a 'decision maker'. The whole country witnessed the office
of the PM losing its dignity, respect and honour, right from the day he was
'chosen' to head it and the day he said Sonia Gandhi was his source of strength
and inspiration. Notwithstanding his subordination to Sonia, he was always
bullied by the Left on one side and by regional allies on the other. He did
not have the prerogative of appointing his cabinet colleagues; the cabinet
was 'decorated' with political novices, criminals and the spouses of criminals,
to the extent that a minister was even awarded life imprisonment for murder!
The last five years of Singh's regime have
been a pathetic display of maladministration and non-governance. It has failed
in all areas including national security, economy, education, health, agriculture,
food production, tourism, women and child welfare, Home affairs… There
is nothing, not a single aspect of governance, which the country can feel
proud of.
Though Congress declared Manmohan as prime
ministerial candidate, present and erstwhile allies have not agreed to his
candidacy. Consistent efforts are being made to impose Rahul Gandhi as future
prime minister. Hence it becomes imperative to analyse the qualities of a
supposedly future leader. We have seen a highly qualified and supposedly honest
Manmohan Singh failing miserably by acting dishonestly. Rahul Gandhi is neither
qualified nor honest. His dishonesty has been evident through the nomination
he filed at the Election Commission, wherein he lied blatantly, as brought
out by a national newspaper. Though he sent a legal notice threatening legal
proceedings, the newspaper had stood by its report.
While dishonesty can never be tolerated, stupidity
can be tolerated only to a certain extent. When both find place together with
added arrogance, it should be shunned at once. Rahul has been a picture of
all three and one can only shudder at the thought of his being at the helm
of affairs in this country. Off elections, he has been silent and harmless;
during elections, in attempting to impress the general public, he puts his
foot in his mouth and the nation gets a dose of idiocy clubbed with arrogance.
During the 2007 UP Assembly elections, he
said, "If a member of the Gandhi family had been at the helm of affairs
in 1992, the Babri Masjid demolition would not have taken place," and
added, "My father Rajiv Gandhi always told my mother Sonia Gandhi that,
if anyone wanted to demolish the Masjid, he would have to do it over his (Rajiv)
dead body." Surely it was his father who opened the gates for 'shilanyas'
at the site, yet he tried to hoodwink the people. This was an exhibition of
naivety and a 'drama' of deceit.
Campaigning in the same elections, he made
an attack on the BSP and SP saying, "The dependence of these parties
on single personalities was responsible for the deplorable condition of Uttar
Pradesh. These two parties are squarely responsible for the lack of development
of UP in the last fifteen years. The state cannot be held hostage to personality
oriented politics and the one leader theory has already done a lot of damage
to the state".
Could anything be more amusing? If the dependence
of political parties on single personalities was responsible for the deplorable
condition of UP, what is wrong in blaming Congress for the deplorable condition
of India as this party is still depending on personalities from a single family?
Applying the same yardstick, why not say that Congress is squarely responsible
for lack of development in the country in the last five decades? Going by
Rahul's logic, we can also assert that the country cannot be held hostage
to personality oriented politics and the one family theory has already done
a lot of damage to the country.
He couldn't cut much ice in UP and Mayawati
scored a fantastic victory and captured power single-handedly. After that,
he led the Congress campaign in other assembly elections in Gujarat, Himachal,
Karnataka, where Congress lost heavily. Now during the month-long campaign
in the current general elections, the way he campaigned shows he has not improved
even an iota in five years! In between, he even embarked on a "Discover
India" mission!
His statements on Bofors, CBI, his snubbing
of extant allies and praising opposition leaders exhibit immaturity and idiocy
which have made the party miserable. Senior leaders find it difficult to come
out of those situations, but none has the courage to rein him in. He is a
subject of ridicule among allies and opposition alike; yet he is touted as
a future prime minister!
We cannot be subjected to a reign of inefficiency
and idiocy. One only hopes the people have voted strategically to get rid
of the Useless Pathetic Alliance and place it in the safe hands of a Nationalistic
and Democratic Alliance.
- The author is a senior journalist; he lives in Chennai
